Affliction
by Ginta
Summary: Tsubaki's younger sister comes for revenge. She doesn't seem to be the greatest villain.....or is she?
1. Chapter One

Affliction

"Where are you going?"

"Shut up," Inuyasha replied to Kagome's question, sneezing.

"Come on! Can't I just have an answer?" Kagome retorted, stalking up next to him. Should he try to run away, she'd have a 'sit' waiting for him.

Rubbing his nose, Inuyasha scoffed over his shoulder, "I deserve my privacy, now leave me alone!"

Actually, he felt like throwing up. He didn't know why, but he did know that he didn't want anyone to see him. As he walked, his frown got bigger as he thought of the stupid remarks everyone would make. 

"Inuyasha…" came the voice from behind, growing angrier at each step he took away.

Inuyasha dashed off before Kagome could say anything more_. What is his problem? Geez…_she thought. Not bothering to dwell on it or be angry any longer, she turned back to Kaede's house with a final confused huff. As she made her way down the dirt road, an idea came to her. Nothing big was going on at the moment: Naraku and his followers had seemingly become dormant over the past few days, and Kagome had acquired another Shikon shard. She decided to take a break and go home for a few days. 

"Kaede-Obaachan, where are Miroku-sama and Sango-chan?" Kagome asked as she entered the old priestess's abode.

"Sango needed to repair her Hiraikotsu again, so Miroku accompanied her for lack of something better to do," Kaede answered from her spot on the floor.

"All right. I guess I'll be going home for a couple nights. Tell Sango-chan and Miroku-sama when they come back." Kagome stated, slipping on her shoes and slinging her giant yellow backpack on her shoulder.

Kaede cocked her head in thought. "Did you two fight again?"

"No, but Inuyasha seems to want to be left alone for some odd reason…so I'll let him," Kagome replied, then looked around, "Where's Shippou-chan?"

"No clue. Probably with Inuyasha," Kaede said, then waved as Kagome left.

"Bye! See you in a few days!" Kagome said as she departed.

Kaede adjusted her position on the floor, pondering. She hadn't even noticed Shippou's absence. She shook it off. He's probably pestering Inuyasha…

***

Inuyasha walked over to the nearest tree, leaning on it. He growled impatiently. _Just puke already. Damn stomach. _He stood there, feeling sicker by the minute. Just when he thought he could get it out of his system, Shippou popped out of nowhere.

"Inuyasha? What are you doing?" Shippou inquired, genuinely curious.

With a slight groan, Inuyasha snapped, "Go away! You're being annoying! Don't you ever stop?!"

Shippou peered at him. "You don't look so good…."

"Then leave me alone!!"

With a sigh, Shippou bounded away, which was in fact, very uncharacteristic, back to the village. Inuyasha watched him go, and heaved a sigh of his own. Suddenly his stomach churned in discontent, and he dug his nails into the trunk of the tree, clutching his middle with the other hand. Finally, it all came up and immediately the scent annoyed his nose. Slowly, he walked several yards away from the mess he made, toward a convenient stream.

"Freakin` gross…" he grumbled to himself, as he rinsed his mouth in the cold water.

***

Amazingly enough, the crack in Sango's Hiraikotsu took no more than an hour or so to repair. Once again, Sango was impressed with herself. The youkai that had attacked had been fairly strong. All along the way back from the Taijiya village, Miroku had been very chit-chatty, but in no way did he try to touch her. This shocked and bewildered Sango, and of course made her even more cautious. 

"What's wrong? You're being so quiet! What did I do?" Miroku asked, pouting at her.

Sango peered at him scrupulously. "Nothing's wrong. Aside from the fact that you're actually being normal."

"Oh Sango! What ever do you mean?" the monk asked, waiting for the right chance.

Miroku slipped his arm around her neck. She tensed up, but didn't knock it away. He actually wasn't going to do what he would normally do. His hand relaxed, until Sango stopped abruptly. She looked at him, and he smiled at her, to charm her. Maybe he could get some affection this way. Sango seemed to sense his ulterior-motive, and edged away from him, glaring.

She signaled Kirara to transform, and jumped onto her back, leaving Miroku his own way back.

"Aww, damn." He grumbled as he made his way back down the hillside, entering the forest.

Smacking bushes and branches aside with his staff, all he could think about was Sango, and her usual angry response to his lustful habits. He hadn't even done anything yet! To him, it was a funny joke just to see her get mad. It livens things up. He stopped musing when a familiar buzzing sound came to his ears. Spinning around, he could sense the presence of Naraku's poison bees. Now, he could see the massive cloud of them coming in from the canopy of the forest. 

"It seems I've caught you alone, monk."

Miroku started at the sound of Naraku's voice. The usual white baboon form emerged from the dark shadows, chuckling. The bees loyally surrounded him. Miroku gripped his staff tightly, ready to fight. Tentacles sprouted from under the baboon pelt, and Naraku raised in height.

"Another stupid puppet, eh?" Miroku said with a grim smirk.

Although he was used to fighting with Sango, he took on the puppet. He leaped up, to smash the head, but was knocked away by a tentacles. Sliding across the ground, Miroku finally got up in time to dodge more attacks. Finally, he sent a scroll to slap against the puppet's forehead. After quivering for several moments, the scroll sizzled and disintegrated; leaving the creature only momentarily stunned.

"They're all the same! Just a waste of time!" Miroku shouted as he sliced the puppet in half, leaving the once giant form as a tiny wooden figure lying on the ground.

Panting, he decided to quickly make his way back, since now Naraku was making moves on them. Stupid, boring, periodic moves, but still not something to leave unsaid. Miroku no longer heard the bees, and wondered where they had gone. At a slow run, he was quickly approaching the village. Shippou met him on a low hill not too far from Kaede's village.

"Miroku! What is it?" Shippou asked, jumping instantly onto his shoulder.

"I'll explain when we get to Kaede-sama's house," Miroku answered, running once more.

Miroku burst through the doorway, expecting to see everyone, but only meeting eyes with Kaede and Sango. 

"Where is everyone?" he asked.

"Kagome-chan went back to her time. And Inuyasha….well, we don't really know," Sango replied, eyeing him, "What's wrong?"

"Naraku attacked me. But, it was only a puppet. No Kagura, nothing. It doesn't make sense. Is this another trap?" Miroku explained, now sitting against a wall.

"He's near?! Oh no! We need to find Inuyasha! Ah, Kagome! Why did she have to leave at a time like this?!" Shippou cried, panicking already and pacing the floor.

"Calm down, Shippou. I'm sure once Inuyasha catches scent of Naraku, he'll be on his track. But where could he be?" Kaede wondered.

All they could do was wait.

***

Ok…I read back and find this…umm…plain. Well, you can tell me what you think. I'll try to be more original, gomen! ^^0 Please read and review!


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Unfortunately for Inuyasha, throwing up did not help at all. _Dammit! If I am attacked, I'll hardly be able to dodge! _He raged silently, while slowly making his way towards the Bone Eater's well, for lack of a better place to go. He half-fell, half-sat down against the side of the well, trying to calm his stomach, which was giving him some nasty pains. Inuyasha hardly got to relax, however. The familiar scent of wolves reached his sensitive nose, and he mumbled angrily as he forced himself to his feet. Ears twitching irritably, he waited for the smell to be more informative of exactly what wolf it was. His face scrunched up in annoyance as he recognized the unmistakable scent of Kouga, Ginta, and Haggaku. Another smell sharply hit him: youkai blood, Kouga's blood.

"Dog face! Get out of my way!" Kouga yelled, leaping over Inuyasha's head. 

Before Inuyasha could retort, a huge youkai came crashing through the trees, entering the clearing. It had a somewhat human face, with a wolf-like body and leathery bat wings. The youkai roared, and charged. It ignored Inuyasha and continued to chase Kouga. In a few short moments, they disappeared, but he didn't take his hand off of Tetsusaiga's sheath. The youkai came back, but Kouga was long gone.

At the sight of Inuyasha drawing out his sword, the youkai sniffed him, and said, "You aren't a wolf, are you? You're probably just a waste of time!"

Contorted in discomfort as Inuyasha's face was, it tightened in confusion. He just stood there, ready to be attacked, but nothing happened.

"You…you k-know him, don't you?" the youkai cried out again pointing to the direction Kouga had fled, and Inuyasha could now tell that it was female.

Once again, he remained silent, watching the youkai with strange eyes.

The odd-looking youkai quivered with rage. "Answer, me, dammit! You know Kouga and he told you everything, didn't he?!"

Suddenly another youkai, resembling the first, landed from the sky to stand beside the female, making the earth shake. This one fidgeted nervously, perhaps in fear of the other's wrath.

"She never says that!" he exclaimed, pointing to the female youkai, clearly meaning that she never said such words, but Inuyasha didn't know this.

"Damn you, hanyou! Say something, shit face!" the female shrieked again, flapping her leathery wings furiously and flexing her claws on her stubby paws.

"She never says that!" the male youkai repeated, stomping his feet, slowly hollowing out the dense bed of dry grass.

Inuyasha continued to stare, as if in a stupor. He didn't feel like saying anything about this very weird situation, which clearly angered the youkai further. Her claws dug into the crumbly dirt, creating holes in the ground. Inuyasha concentrated on keeping his footing as the ground shook with each stomp the youkai took.

"Fine! He went…" Inuyasha threw his arms in the air, picking a random direction and pointed, "that way."

The female youkai's demeanor changed at once and her teeth gleamed in a horrifically pleased grin. She then said thank you in the most polite language possible, promising to repay Inuyasha for his help. Nodding to her mate, she took to the skies, the male following, still muttering something about mood swings. Inuyasha flopped on the ground, letting his guard down. Leaning against the well, he fell asleep.

Inuyasha jerked awake at the sound of footsteps crunching on leaves. Abruptly, he stood up, though he felt very weak and all he wanted to do was sleep. Suddenly, a girl appeared in the clearing, looking directly at him. She had long, dark blue hair in pigtails, and looked about as old as Kagome. Sporting armor, she looked like she'd just arrived from a battle.

"You're Inuyasha, right? I'll kill you right here!" she declared, brown eyes glaring at him.

Inuyasha peered at her strangely, smelled only a human, and scoffed, "Yeah, that's me. What's your problem? I have nothing to do with humans."

"You! You killed my older sister, Tsubaki! I'm here to take revenge for my sister!" she yelled, pointing her own Shikigami at him.

"HEY! Stupid human, do you think I was going to just let that black miko kill me?! She's the one who tried to kill me first! Go away, before I rip you up!" he growled angrily, flexing his claws at her after thinking for a moment who exactly she was talking about.

"I'm not scared of a hanyou. I, Kuma the miko, will kill you," she said, then whispering orders to her serpent. 

_How does this girl know who I am? _Without warning, the shikigami came up right in front of him, and tore straight through his chest. Choking out a painful groan, he fell over the edge of the well and plunged down to the bottom, unconscious, as he left the Sengoku Jidai.

"Hmph! That will teach you, damn hanyou," Kuma sneered, disappearing back into the forest, which was growing dark as the sun sank down, creating a haze of pink and orange in the sky.

***

Kagome hummed to herself as she munched her dinner with her family, savoring every bite. It was all so good! Forgetting manners, she picked up as much food with her chopsticks as she could, and crammed it into her mouth, unable to suppress a happy sound. Her family had all stopped eating to stare. She was enjoying her food too much to notice. Clean hair, clean clothes, soft bed, and such delicious food! She even shaved her legs. How good it felt! Every time she came back, her reaction was the same.

"Kagome?" her grandfather said, trying desperately to get her attention.

She swallowed her last bite, and realized everyone was gawking at her. "Sorry! What was that, Grandpa?"

"Are you sure you're eating well enough over there?" he further inquired.

"Of course! It's just that nothing is as good as your cooking, Mama!" Kagome answered, beaming at her. Her mother thanked her in a warm smile.

"Sis, why don't you bring Inu no nii-chan with you? Are you having problems again?" Souta prodded.

"Inuyasha? Not really, but he's sure been moody lately!" Kagome replied, and thanked her mom for the food.

"I'll be in my room!" she called, after cleaning her dirty dishes, and started up the stairs.

Kagome's mom gathered up the remaining plates and started to clean the kitchen. "I'm so glad she's happy."

After a few minutes, Kagome heard a knock on her door. Her mother had to take a quick trip to the store to get more of Souta's allergy medicine, and Souta would be accompanying her. 

"So watch over your grandfather, all right? We should be back in about an hour," her mother said, and kissed her goodbye. 

"Ok, see you later!" Kagome watched them leave and walked to the living room.

Plopping down on the couch, she decided to watch some television. Something felt weird to her though, and the feeling kept bugging her. Finally she flicked off the television, slipped on her shoes, and went outside to investigate. She sensed something, though she couldn't make out what it could be. It wasn't a Shikon shard or anything like that. Kagome found herself standing in front of the well house, and opened the door. Not knowing why exactly she was doing this, she walked down the steps, and pointed her flashlight down into the well. She gasped at the sight of Inuyasha, collapsed on the floor of the well.

__

Inuyasha!

Wasting no time, since it was getting dark, she hurriedly climbed down the ladder and kneeled down by Inuyasha. Inspecting him with the flashlight, she gasped at the bloody wound on his chest. She tried calling his name, but got no response. Holding back her tears, she hoisted his limp body onto her back, and nearly fell over. _He's too heavy! How am I going to do this?! _She thought desperately, setting Inuyasha back down on the ground. Suddenly, he stirred, and his golden eyes opened up to look at her.

"Inuyasha! Are you alright?!" Kagome asked, leaning over him.

"Ka-kagome…the sun is going down," he mumbled, sitting up slowly, but hardly having the strength.

"The sun…" Kagome trailed off, staring up out of the well, which was now dark.

Inuyasha gasped and his body shook as his hair darkened from white to black, and his youkai ears disappeared, being replaced by human ears. The once lethal claws shrunk to blunted, fragile human ones, and his fangs dulled to ordinary teeth. He felt himself grow weaker, and his senses dimmed. His wound stopped healing, and for the first time he could actually feel his body hurting from the fall. He sank down, his hands the only thing keeping him from falling back on his stomach. 

"Inuyasha! We have to get you out of the well," Kagome said, but didn't know how this would be done.

Slowly, Inuyasha rose to his feet, and instantly put his right hand to his chest, where the wound had started bleeding again. Kagome jumped up and supported him with her shoulder. He coughed and pushed her away, motioning for her to get on his back so he could climb the ladder. She felt wrong for letting him, but reluctantly got on his back as he made his way out of the well. The second he got out she slid off, before he dropped her. Inuyasha made no effort to move any farther.

"Come on. Let's go in the house," Kagome gently urged, but stopped when she saw his face.

"I think I'm going to puke…" he muttered, before falling to his knees and doing so.

Kagome ran to the clothesline, which her mom still hadn't taken care of, yanked a sheet off, and ran back to Inuyasha, giving it to him to wipe his mouth with, not even thinking about what she was doing. Kagome helped him up and supported him, walking into the house. Quickly, once they got inside, she cleared off the couch so he could lay down there. 

"Damned girl," Inuyasha muttered, finally somewhat comfortable on the couch.

Kagome leaned over. "Inuyasha, don't talk. You can tell me later, ok? I'll be right back."

Inuyasha fumed silently, eyes closed as he waited. _What the hell made that girl think she could just stalk me like that?! Dammit, I'll kill her too! It's almost like she knew I was about to change to human…Shit! She could be in league with Naraku! _He continued to reprimand himself for once again not keeping track of the moon's phases. The sharp 

pain in his chest angered him farther, as he pressed temporary gauze on it. The sickness from before had not gone away, and he was starting to become delusional. On top of everything else, he was sweating.

Finally, Kagome came down the stairs with a first-aid kit. She came over and felt his forehead, which was extremely hot to her hand. _He has a fever too? No wonder he couldn't fend off whatever attacked him. That explains his throwing up, too. I hope everyone else is all right_, she thought worriedly, as she prepared to dress Inuyasha's wound. Since she'd done it so many times before, she no longer needed assistance, or anyone else to show her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, the thought that she was becoming more like Kikyou surfaced, but Kagome quickly shoved it away.

"Hot in here," Inuyasha said quietly, trying to focus on something in the room, and not having much luck.

"Oh, I'll fix that!" Kagome answered, jumping up to pull the chain on the ceiling fan.

Inuyasha's eyes widened in confusion and surprise as the blades went around faster, creating a draft. He still wasn't used to the ceiling fan. He shifted slightly away. Kagome stopped at the look on his face.

"It's just a fan," she said, not able to suppress a grin.

He peered at her with half-closed eyes. "A fan? That's not a fan."

"…It is too a fan. We've been over this before. Now take off your shirt, so I can stop the bleeding," Kagome replied, staring at him with defense in her eyes.

Inuyasha tried to remove the shirt, but it disturbed the wound, and he fell back from his sitting position, grimacing. She helped him, and finally started to bandage up his chest. Kagome couldn't help but think about the dozens of times that she'd done this. Only, it was different this time. His wound wouldn't heal normally, like a hanyou's would, but at the slow rate of any other human. She had to take care in doing this. Suddenly, she felt extremely nervous. As she went along, Kagome suddenly was impacted with the strong sense of a Shikon shard. The aura was strangely black, but the shard itself was not fake. _Why didn't I notice it before? _She thought, pausing. She sensed it in his wound, right in the middle. _How on earth did it get there? _She worried silently. 

Inuyasha's brown eyes met her worried face. "What is it?"

"W-what?" she responded, startled out of her reverie.

Coughing, Inuyasha stared at her. "You stopped."

_I have to try and get it out_.

"There's a Shikon shard in you," Kagome said, returning the glance, "But, it's been soiled."

Inuyasha's expression hardened, and he heaved a painful sigh, still looking at her. Kagome had no idea what to do. When Tsubaki had cursed her, there was no way out of it, unless the black miko was killed. Her stomach twisted. 

"That girl was Tsubaki's younger sister, and I guess this proves it," Inuyasha said weakly, thinking back on their trouble with Tsubaki.

Without replying, Kagome reached out her unsteady hand, and as it neared Inuyasha, a violent wave of dark energy passed through her. She recoiled quickly, holding her hand. 

"Do you feel strange at all?" She asked, still rubbing her hand.

"No, not yet anyway. That stupid little miko girl, Kuma, or whatever sought revenge. Keh! She thought she killed me!" he burst out in response, sitting up abruptly despite the pain.

"She almost did…. She's trying to curse you…" Kagome trailed off, staring at the floor.

"But…..but! She didn't kill me! Yeah. Wow, Kagome, that fan's goin` really fast…" Inuyasha insisted, suddenly feeling very dizzy as he stared at the moving blades, not really meaning to.

"Are…you okay?" Kagome asked, looking up at that strange statement, "Inuyasha?"

"Hm?" Inuyasha answered, turning to her slowly.

A second after that reply, he fainted on the couch. 

***

That was Chapter Two. Eh….good…bad…annoying? TELL ME! 


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

"Inuyasha. Inuyasha, wake up!" Kagome said, shaking his shoulder and getting no response.

She pulled back her hand. His arm was all sweaty. _He's not that well, after all. Wonder what made him so sick…_Kagome thought, continuing to dress Inuyasha's wound. Once finished, she brushed his dark bangs out of his face. She sat on the chair across from the couch, and just watched him. His body softly rose and fell as he lay there, looking very peaceful to her despite the pain she knew he must be experiencing right now.

Gasping, Kagome suddenly remembered about her grandfather. She quickly ran to his room, only to find him asleep on his bed. He chirped in his slumber, and turned away from the light that fell on his face from the opened door.

"Whew, good thing he's asleep. Better for him not to worry about this," she said to herself, closing the door.

Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was only 9:00 PM. They had at least seven hours or so before Inuyasha would turn back into his hanyou form. Kagome ran up the stairs to her room to grab some blankets from the closet. On her desk, she spotted the bottle that contained her tiny Shikon shards. A youkai could easily attack her again, just like many other instances in the past. Better not to leave them there. She dropped it into her pocket before she returned to the living room.

As she made her way down the stairs, she heard Inuyasha call, "Kagome! Come quick!"

Kagome hurried to where Inuyasha was leaning on the back of the couch, looking out the window at something.

"What? Is it a youkai?" she asked, also peering through the glass into the darkness facing the south.

"K-Kagome! What is that?!" Inuyasha demanded, jabbing a finger at a tractor standing idly nearby a street light on the other side of the road.

"Huh? What are you talking about? I don't sense anything," Kagome responded, not understanding his concern.

"Right there! That big yellow thing! If it's a youkai, I'll have to fight it!" he raised his voice, though he didn't have much voice left.

Kagome studied the entire area for a few moments. Finally spotting the tractor, she exploded with laughter. Inuyasha looked at her hurtfully, not understanding why she was making fun of him. He laid back down on the couch, frowning at her.

When she controlled herself, she said, "That's not a youkai! It's just a tractor that people use to build things!"

__

What is wrong with her?! How am I supposed to know that that thing wasn't dangerous?! I don't know a damn thing about her stupid world and all the freaky things these people use! Inuyasha raged in silence, not feeling like yelling it out loud. He turned his back to her, still frowning.

"Oh, come on! I couldn't help it! Here, I'm sorry!" Kagome apologized quickly, holding out a blanket to him.

Slowly, he moved back to her, and took the blanket. He just sat there, holding it. Kagome finally turned around to make some tea for both of them.

"Kagome," Inuyasha said, stopping her.

Kagome looked at him. "Yes?"

Feeling nervous again, he beckoned her with his hand. She walked over and immediately felt his forehead to see if his fever had gone down. Before she could ask him again what he wanted, Inuyasha pulled her into a hug. Startled, Kagome hugged him back reflexively. He nuzzled into her hair, and wrapped his arms tighter around her. Kagome's emotions suddenly erupted as she embraced him carefully, still aware of his wound. She was so glad that he was alive when she found him, and that he was all right now. Finally, after what seemed like forever, they pulled apart slowly, neither of them making eye contact with each other.

"Thank you," Inuyasha mumbled, just audible for her to hear.

Without another word, Kagome simply smiled at him and went into the kitchen.

As he sat there, a thought came to Inuyasha, possibly a thought to deter him from thinking about his emotional outburst. Maybe…maybe it was because of that sweet brown stuff he had eaten earlier. His curiosity had gotten the better of him, and the smell of the chocolate had made him look through the giant bag until he found it. Another pang hit his stomach, which made him vow silently to never eat it again. Just so that Kagome would never find out, after eating the chocolate, he had stuffed the wrapper in the folds of his haori. She'd definitely find it now. He couldn't wait until Kagome found out so she could yell at him for another reason. _Great. She'll get mad at me now, _Inuyasha thought dryly.

"Damn it," he cursed under his breath when he tried to move and couldn't, "Stupid human body…"

Shippou continued to pace around the small room. "Where _is_ he?!"

"Shippou-chan", Sango asked after finishing her meal, "Are you sure Inuyasha didn't tell you where he was going?"

"Yes! He didn't tell me anything! He seemed to be in a bad mood like always. Only, he looked kinda sick. But that gives him no right to just disappear on us! We need him to bring Kagome back, before Naraku attacks us again!" Shippou cried, pacing faster.

"Only Kagome-sama and Inuyasha can go through the well, so there's not much we can do. But there is definitely something wrong here. Inuyasha should've come back by now," Miroku said, eyes cast on the dark patch of sky not covered by the flimsy door.

Sensing a strange aura not too far from the village, Kaede got up. "Something's coming. Be on your guard."

When hearing this, Shippou squeaked and ran behind Sango, who was going outside with Miroku. Kaede concentrated on the power she felt. It was almost like Kikyou's, but this person was not dead. It had to be a miko, and one with power. She picked up her bow and quiver of arrows, knowing that this presence was not a friendly one.

Just over the hill stood Kuma, glaring at the sky. Her long robes billowed in the wind, and she held herself, almost looking cold despite the warm weather. She shivered. _Why am I still thinking about that hanyou? _Even though her sister was dead, strange thoughts still seemed to control her. Kuma had been forced to kill Inuyasha. She truly had no personal reasons, just leftover grief for Tsubaki. When she had died, Kuma had known the exact instant, and had momentarily felt the remnants of Tsubaki's being seep into her. In a way, she was not herself anymore, but was in constant battle over what used to be Kuma.

The sight of Miroku, Sango, and Shippou shook Kuma from her thoughts. She summoned her shikigami and sent them into the tall grasses that grew down the slope. _Who are they? They look like a nuisance. Oh great!_

"Who's there!" Sango shouted up the hill as she threw her Hiraikotsu at the shikigami that had lunged for her.

"If I'm not mistaken, it looks like a shikigami! How many black mikos can there be?!" Miroku grumbled aloud as he graspedhis right hand.

Kuma's shikigami, not nearly as strong as Tsubaki's, was cut in half by the Hiraikotsu and fell into the grass. The black miko pouted instantly. Any hostile image one would see of her fell away. She sank to her knees, making strange, sad noises.

"Look what you did! And I tried so hard to raise her, too! Ahhhhhh!!" Kuma wailed, blinking away foolish tears as she glared at Miroku, who was slowly approaching her.

After retrieving her weapon, Sango turned sharply at the sound of their enemy crying on her knees. Her once anguished face loosened at the sight and complete bewilderment washed over her; the girl wasn't faking it.

"Now, now," Miroku cooed, edging closer, "What business does a little black miko-in-training have in attacking a handsome man and his beautiful female companion?"

"I am NOT 'in-training'!!!!" she shrieked, her fair face contorted with petty frustration.

"Ok, ok, do you know Tsubaki by any chance? She was a horrible witch, though I have to say she was quite the beauty," Miroku pressed, reaching out a hand.

Sango knew _exactly _what that perverted monk would do. To her, especially, he was doing something so utterly careless and stupid. He could easily be caught in a trap. She marched over to Miroku, just as he stuck his staff in the ground and clasped Kuma's small delicate hands in his. When he touched her, her heart beat faster and she felt the heat rise in her face.

"Would you please bear my child?" Miroku said, but it was not Sango who smacked him on the head, but Kuma.

"She was not a witch!" she growled, wiping at her face not only to eliminate any signs of tears, but to hide the blush rising in her cheeks, "Can't you just leave me alone?"

Miroku backed away. "You attacked us first."

Kuma stood up, still glaring at Sango, and now Shippou, who had dared come closer. His nose twitched as he sorted out the scents he detected on the black miko.

"You!" he said, tail twitching angrily, "Where is Inuyasha? I smell him on you!"

Kuma took several steps backwards, and called her serpent. "So what if you do? You won't find him in this world."

Miroku quickly stepped forward and snatched her wrists. "Listen, little girl, you are going to tell us where he is. Now."

"You can't make me!" Kuma squealed, and her shikigami flew at Miroku.

Kirara lunged at the shikigami and sank her fangs in the center of the serpent. Instead of bursting into blood, it shifted to little squares of white paper. Sango nearly fell over at the sight of how weak it was. Inuyasha had to be fine. But it he was, why hasn't he returned yet? And why was Kagome taking so long? She shook her head, perplexed.

Miroku let go of the girl and yanked his staff out of the ground. "Take us to where you fought him."

"Like I'm going to listen to you!" Kuma said shakily, not liking how her situation was turning out.

Kirara bared her fangs at the black miko, and Sango came to stand beside her loyal pet. "If you don't want to be torn to pieces, I suggest you do as we say."

Shippou was sent back to inform Kaede of their plans, and he put up no argument when it was suggested that he say with her. As the three of them rode on Kirara, Kuma reluctantly directed Sango and Miroku to the Bone Eater's Well. Kirara deliberately shook Kuma off, who had been in the rear, and she fell on her bottom below.

"Hey! Why'd your youkai dump me off?!" she whined, not even attempting to get up.

Sango ignored her and jumped off of Kirara after Miroku. "Why are we here?"__

He must've gone into the well to bring Kagome back .But if he did, then why would this black miko be involved? Miroku could only shrug after attempting to arrange his thoughts.

He smirked at Kuma. "Well, we know that _you_ couldn't have killed him. He's much too strong for that. He must be in Kagome's time."

Kuma kept silent, not wanting these strange people to kill her. She'd just let them figure out what happened. She twirled a blue strand of hair, trying to look innocent. Besides, if she played it out right, she'd have them protecting her for the night!

"I guess we'll be camping out here," Miroku said, looking around for firewood.

Sango still didn't trust this girl, and kept her eye on her, Hiraikotsu by her side as she sat against the side of the well. As soon as the fire was started, Kuma cautiously edged closer, and curled up on the grass to sleep.

__

Well, she appears to think we will do her no harm. I guess we'll see when Inuyasha gets back, Sango thought as she watched the dancing flames of the fire. Miroku watched Sango finally drift off to sleep. He took it upon himself to keep watch. As his eyes wandered to the familiar trees and foliage, his mind noticed something that he had forgotten to connect earlier: there was no moonlight.

Kagome watched more TV while Inuyasha slept. Bored, she flicked onto one of the many news channels. She sat up intently as the reporter frantically blurted out information of an explosion caused near the clinic her mother had gone to. Her heart skipped a beat. She looked at the clock, and came to the conclusion that it had been nearly two hours since her mother had left. They'd been gone too long.

"_We don't know how the explosion occurred, or what might have caused it. Our news team is reporting information as it becomes avaiable. Firefighters are extinguishing the flames, but they are saying the fire never dies. Stay tuned to KXL News for further coverage."_

For another minute she sat mutely, staring at the screen, waiting for more information. But, to her dismay, the channel swept off to a slew of commercials. She didn't even bother to check any other channels. She knew that a youkai was responsible. Kagome didn't know what she was going to do. She couldn't just sit here and wait, depending on Inuyasha like she always does.

"Looks like a youkai is involved," Inuyasha said from the couch, startling her.

Kagome immediately ran over to Inuyasha's side. "You can't go, if that's what you're thinking. You can't."

Inuyasha grimaced as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. He was a little more than fatigued, but he knew he was hardly in any shape. It's not like he was just going to sit there, in any case.

"Where's your family?" he asked as he eyed the room, though he couldn't sense anything.

Kagome fought back tears as she replied: "Mom and Souta went to the pharmacist…"

Inuyasha looked at her in confusion.

"A…a store with medicine, I mean. That's where the youkai is, somewhere in that area. I have to go see for myself." She finished, holding her fist to her heart.

Kagome turned to go when Inuyasha reached out to grab her arm and she protested. "Let me go…I care for you too much to allow you to go."

Inuyasha swung his legs around to touch the floor, and apparently too fast, since he grabbed his head immediately after doing so. "Ugh…I can't let you go alone, Kagome. I said I'd always be there for you, and I meant it."

Kagome wrenched free of his hand easily. "No! Even if the youkai were weak, you still wouldn't be able to do anything, in your human form. You have to know that, Inuyasha."

He definitely wasn't going to tell her about the chocolate now. _She'd be madder than ever, no doubt…_he thought to himself. How could he not go? There was no way she could make him stay.

"Well, before I go, I have to ask you something. When you were sleeping, you mumbled something about 'sweet brown stuff'. What on earth were you talking about?" Kagome asked, the question arising once more in her mind as she thought of it.

Inuyasha felt his face go red. "Uh…well…I…"

"I need to know what it is! I think I have an idea of why you were attacked," Kagome urged, not noticing how uncomfortable this was making him.

He let out a shaky sigh. "It's in my shirt."

When she went over and pulled out the chocolate wrapper, her first reaction regarded her guess. She was wrong. Her second reaction was worry.

"Y-you ate chocolate? You're half dog youkai. Dog! Do you know WHY that's bad?" Kagome reeled, staring at the wrapper, then back at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha thought of his horrible stomach pains and shook his head.

"Chocolate is bad for dogs, and I'm pretty sure with youkai it's no different! Oh no," Kagome continued, turning around to stroke his face, "You're lucky you're a hanyou."

"Why?" Inuyasha asked, a blush creeping back onto his face.

Kagome brought her hand down, and Inuyasha took it. "You could have been seriously afflicted, I bet. That's why you couldn't fend for yourself. Did you throw up?"

Inuyasha nodded, grabbing her hand harder. "It all makes sense now."

"Except for the Shikon shard in you," Kagome said quietly.

That swept away any good feelings they were experiencing. They couldn't escape it; how could they?

"Kagome, you can't keep me here. I…I don't know how that bitch implanted a shard in me but I'm not just gonna sit back and take it. You can't handle this by yourself." Inuyasha declared, reaching for his blood stained undershirt.

"Well, I can't feel anything strange, but the possibility of a youkai is very real," Kagome said, coming to terms with her defeat although distress marred her face, "You're not wearing that, " she added.

"Eh? Oh…" the hanyou frowned, "Is there something wrong with it?"

Kagome rolled her eyes as she searched through the piles of clean clothes she had thrown off the couch in her haste to tend to Inuyasha. Pulling out one of Souta's huge sleeping shirts, she handed it to Inuyasha and he slowly wrestled it over his head, followed by his haori.

They both knew they had two priorities, but even though Kagome was torn between checking on the state of her friends in the Sengoku Jidai under the possible threat of that black miko, her heart yanked painfully as she weighed that against her mother and brother. She had to find out if they were okay. She would be of no use in fighting if she didn't know.

I don't know why I finished the chapter but I did. Oh, I know. Because I realized how crappy this fic is, but I at least want to bring it to a pseudo closure that will never be revived. Hehe. If you're here, thanks for reading.


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